I have been intending to do this for machines, have you seen the one on the metal lathe?
QR Codes on Tools / Around the Space
Yes!
That’s the idea- but I think it needs more human readable info on it as well- ie. Toolname and induction / no induction needed, not sure what else…
Possible whether it needs PPE. Although I think the more we add, the more bigger it would get and take up more space.
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I’m in favour of the QR code and a small symbol for induction required and possibly another to indicate the risk profile (the higher the risk, the more important it is to scan the QR code and read the tool page).
I did look for an obvious icon for induction - most are a quite complicated training icon. So perhaps just the word “INDUCTION” below the QR code would be best.
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@Clix developed a colour code system for the woodshop…that could be an efficient way to indicate hazard/induction levels? Perhaps
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I’ve worked out some easy automation to generate all the QR codes and then “mail merge” fields to generate the composite images. Happy to document the process going forward.
One task remaining is making sure all the links on the tool page point to the topic ID and not just the “slug” as that changes if the title is changed (e.g. https://discourse.southlondonmakerspace.org/t/spindle-moulder-startrite-t30/should read https://discourse.southlondonmakerspace.org/t/spindle-moulder-startrite-t30/2028)
Is there anyone willing to help out with that?
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I’m willing to help, what does it entail? I took a brief look at the Discourse API the other day, but I’m not too familiar with the setup of Discourse.
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Thanks for volunteering! Hopefully no API access is required. Discourse will resolve slugs to canonical URLs when they are clicked and all members should have access to edit the tool index. Do you wanna start from the top and I’ll do a final sweep of the remaining from the bottom? Thanks again!
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Adding the missing tool model names or numbers would be a nice improvement as well.
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Ok, updated the links on the tool page!
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Thanks Max!
Here’s some browser console code to grab all the tools
child_text = (elem) => [...elem.childNodes].filter(elem => elem.nodeType == Node.TEXT_NODE).map(elem => elem.textContent).join('');
copy([...$$('.cooked li > a')].map(e => [child_text(e.parentNode).replace(/^\s*\-\s*/, '').trim(), e.innerText, e.href]).map(l => l.join("\t")).join("\n"))
And here’s using command line tools qrencode and imagemagick to build nifty QR codes, abusing the 30% redundancy in -l H qr codes. A 96x96 px logo works well.
#! /bin/bash
logo="logo.png"
while IFS="," read -r model tool print induction lone url
do
if [ "$print" == "Y" ]; then
filename=$(echo "$model $tool" | sed -r 's/[^A-Za-z0-9_]+/_/g; s/(^\_)|(\_$)//g')
filename="./out/$filename.png"
[[ $model = "" ]] && label="$tool" || label="$model"
[[ $induction = "" ]] && i_text="No Induction" || i_text="Induction Required"
[[ $lone = "" ]] && l_text="Lone Work Permitted" || l_text="No Lone Working"
qrencode -s 10 -l H -o "$filename" "$url"
convert -size 570x770 xc:white -gravity Center "$filename" -composite "$logo" -composite -background none -font Helvetica -pointsize 60 \
-gravity North caption:"$label" -geometry +0+25 -composite \
-gravity South caption:"$i_text" -geometry +0+50 -composite \
-gravity South caption:"$l_text" -geometry +0+0 -composite "$filename"
fi;
done < <(tail -n +2 tool_list.csv
I will keep this comment updated as we complete the process.
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SIGNAGE: I like the idea but make them easily to be changed/removed ex: screw on signage or stickers.
LINKS: Links can easily break which make QR Codes useless by time.
It’s better one QR PER AREA that leads to a menu site than one unique QR per tool/machine. This way has less maintenance, can be easily changed and the pages can be easily updated.
Our tool pages have been pretty static for a number of years. We can change the stickers if that changes.
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Ok fair enough if its kept maintained. Aesthetically wise can be a bit overwhelming too to have a lot of QR around. These are my suggestions but I’m curious how it will turned around.
Yeah, I discovered it after some visits when I asked if there’s some sort of inventory.
It’s part of the new discourse user guide and the new member guide as well 
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We now have a standardized header on the woodshop tool pages thanks to @mbg!! (with only a little pestering )
I have setup the workflow to generate qr codes with induction+lone working for each tool in a csv on the Mac in the space.
I have attached them to a few tools and given Max his but I’m curios if @CNCtechs @textilestechs @electrotechs @lasertechs would like to join the fun. I printed them at 16 per page but other sizes might be appropriate on other tools.
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So… I’ve got some Laser Laminate (like the red sign above the laser cutter) with me atm which i was going to experiment and propose a laser-cut (hopefully durable) way to have QR codes in the space.
My initial thoughts were having Red laminate for tools that need inductions, and Green laminate for tools that do not need inductions.
Next time i’m in the space I’ll do a mockup to see what people think
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I love the sound of that. The printed out QR codes are an amazing start but I think a bit easy to miss. Something like that sounds like it would be much more obvious.